Day 76: In Which He Cares For Her

He found her lying on the couch with the lights turned off, a glass of wine in one hand and a pensive expression on her face.

"... Did something happen?" he asked, his preoccupied brain already coming up with a bunch of different scenarios. He immediately thought of Anna and the baby, and a chill ran down his spine when Elsa's lifeless eyes finally met his.

"Someone from my team was fired today," she explained before taking a swig of her drink.

He felt momentary relief at her statement, but the exhaustion on her eyes quickly made his concern resurface.

Sitting with her legs on his lap, Jack gave her thigh an affectionate rub. "I'm so sorry about that. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

Elsa swirled her wine in contemplative silence, apparently so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't even find the need to give him an answer.

"Okay. Up." Jack stretched out his hands to help her sit. "We're going out."

She shook her head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"We're gonna take a walk around the block."

"Don't be stupid."

He sighed, squeezing her free hand between his, and waited for her to look at him. "I know it sounds like an unnecessary risk, but I don't think being locked up in here is doing much good to your mental health right now."

Elsa frowned, her lips pressing together as if she was refraining from admitting that he had a point.

"You can wear your gloves and your faceplate thingie." Wiggling his eyebrows, he added, "And we can buy ice cream on the way back."

"Fine," she huffed and chugged the rest of her wine. "But I'm not changing my clothes!"

"You look beautiful no matter what you wear, Elsa." Jack grinned as he pulled her by the collar of her oversized sweatshirt for a quick kiss.

"Ugh," Elsa scoffed with feigned irritation and pushed him away. "You're an idiot."

Jack continued to smile as he led her to the door, not offended in the slightest. Truth be told, he simply felt comforted that he had finally gotten a normal reaction out of her. And, considering the mess that was their lives at the moment, he'd gladly take normal any day...